This invention relates, in general, to fabrication of optical devices and, more particularly, to fabrication of a lens device with a core region of an optical waveguide.
This application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,184, issued on Nov. 23, 1993, having application Ser. No. 889,335, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,184, titled "MOLDED WAVEGUIDE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME", and filed on May 28, 1992.
At present, coupling of a light emitting device to a core region of a waveguide is a difficult task that typically is achieved by either a manual method or a semi-automatic method. Generally, both the manual and the semi-automated methods are complex, inefficient, and are not suitable for high volume manufacturing.
A major problem associated with the coupling of the light emitting device to the core region of the waveguide is alignment of a working portion of the light emitting device to the core region of the waveguide. Moreover, it should be pointed out that the working portion of the light emitting device generally is required to be not only perpendicular, but also to be within an area described by a surface of the core region of the waveguide so as to allow light from the working portion to enter the core region of the waveguide, thus necessitating extremely tight alignment tolerances between the working portion of the light emitting device and the core region of the waveguide.
In the prior art, coupling of the optical device and the core region of the waveguide typically is achieved by carefully aligning an activated light emitting device to the core region of the waveguide by hand, commonly called active alignment, and subsequently cementing or adhering the light emitting device to the core region of the waveguide. However, many problems arise by aligning the light emitting device and the core region of the waveguide by hand, such as being extremely labor intensive, being costly, having a potential of poor accuracy of the alignment, and the like. Further, if the misalignment is severe enough, unsuitable product is manufactured, thus increasing cost and reducing manufacturing capacity.
It can be readily seen that the prior art methods for connecting an optical device to a waveguide have severe limitations. Also, it is evident that the prior art fabrication methods or interconnection between the optical device and the waveguide are not only complex and expensive, but also not amenable to high volume manufacturing. Therefore, a method for interconnecting an optical device to a core region of an optical waveguide that is cost effective and simplistic is highly desirable.